Return Afzal’s mortal remains: NC

Hurriyat said that the hanging of the Yakub Mamon has reopened the wounds of the Kashmiri nation and today the memories of the Shaheed Mohammad Maqbool Bhat and Mohammad Afzal Gooru are badly striking our hearts and minds who were hanged for no crime and whose dead bodies too were denied to their families. “Dead bodies don’t do any harm and I think government should have now no problem in handing over his body”, PDP chief spokesperson Mehboob Beg said.

“How can you justify not handing over body of Afzal Guru to his family when you handed over the body of Yakub Memon to his family?”

He said that Yakub Mamon had himself returned to India from Dubai and surrendered before the government and had cooperated in the investigation of the Mumbai blasts in an assurance that he will be forgiven for anything.

He said that it is unfortunate that the NC, when in power, booked people and separatists and enforced curfew in the streets of Jammu and Kashmir when similar demand was being made for mortal remains. “Now the PDP is the coalition partner of the BJP which is also at the centre, the Cheif Minister should initiate steps so that the family gets the mortal remains”. “NC working president (and former chief minister) Omar Abdullah had written to the then Prime Minister of India demanding the return of Guru’s mortal remains and the party has repeatedly raised this demand even on the floor of the Legislative Assembly”, he said.

Mir said that the sensitivities of Afzal’s family should be taken into account and parties should desist from abusing this issue for scoring political points.

The PDP leader said that it is unfortunate that NC politicizing the issue of death penalty and making separatist demand of bringing mortal remains. In-fact, the congress legislators had termed the execution as a mistake by the central government.

Guru, the Parliament attack case convict, was secretly hanged and buried in Tihar Jail in 2013.